A headlamp for a vehicle such as an automobile generally comprises a reflector which is open at the front and which is adapted to have a cover glass fitted over it so as to define with the reflector an enclosed interior space, within which a light source is mounted so that the rays of light from the latter are reflected by the reflector and propagated through th cover glass. In certain cases, the reflector is disposed inside a housing with the cover glass secured over the front opening of the housing.
In both of these cases, the headlamp is provided with some mechanism for adjusting the light beam, by effecting a slight pivoting movement of the reflector with respect to the body of the vehicle, or with respect to the housing within which the reflector is mounted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4 196 459 describes a mechanism for mounting and adjusting a headlamp for an automotive vehicle, in which the mechanism comprises a support which includes a leaf spring fixed to the reflector and having its resilient free end formed with an opening, such as to allow the leaf spring to slide with respect to a carrier, which in turn is in resilient engagement with a part of the bodywork. An adjusting screw is threaded into the carrier, the adjusting screw being such as to move longitudinally with the leaf spring and thus with the reflector.
One of the features disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. Patent is that the leaf spring is fixed on the reflector by rivets. This arrangement has the disadvantage that it gives rise to local impairment in the quality of the light beam emitted by the headlamp, due to the presence of the heads of the rivets which lie on the reflecting surface of the reflector.